I have now declared war on my Sandtex

[JoceAndChris]

Was it customary to paint exterior stucco with oil based paint?

Glad the hot air gun is working - I like them too. On number 3 now!

 

[Nigel Watts]

Just upgraded to a 2000W model. I love an excuse to buy tools!

 

[Nigel Watts]

Spent a couple of hours experimenting with my new 2kW heat gun.

It certainly will remove most of the paint but it is painfully slow. I am veering back towards chemical warfare. A couple of samples have now arrived from Strippers of Sudbury and the experiments continue.

Curiously there is very little old paint on the right side of my porch but massive encrustation on the left. This may be related to the fact that the right wall is on the end of the house and exposed to more damp over the years. The colour below the encrusted layers is a warm honey and serious candidate for eventual redecoration - close to F&B Buff, which is significantly darker than my current String. With my plan to have the woodwork grained brown oak and pale bronze green railings the house will really start to look suitably attired for its period. The neighbours, I'm afraid, will loathe it.

 

[Penners]

Glad the hot air gun is working - I like them too. On number 3 now!

Joce's hot air gun:

:wink:

 

[Nigel Watts]

Good article here:

http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/stucco/stucco.htm

 

[LadyArowana]

Joce's hot air gun:

:wink:

Joce deserves something better than that for her tresses, at least let her have a diffuser on the end :wink:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Joce deserves something better than that for her tresses, at least let her have a diffuser on the end :wink:

That looks a much better option - those pointy things are clearly better for removing the woodchip from the ceiling than Penners' suggestion. 8)

 

[philpjuk100]

I purchased my hairdrier from B and Q and I am now quite bald!

 

[Nigel Watts]

Sudbury stripper No 410 works beautifully and slices through the Sandtex in no time. Seems to attack the underlying oil-based finishes too, but no quite so effectively. Being significntly more expensive than Klingstrip, I am thinking of using the 410 first (or the 610 which I have still to try) then following up with Klingstrip. 410 smells strongly of Ammonia, which reminds me of matron's room at my prep school.

Anyone had experience of using hot water pressure sprays, whose use is recommended after the stripper? The kit looks expensive to buy or hire.

 

[Penners]

clearly better ... than Penners' suggestion.

Don't let me catch you using phrases like that too often, young man. :evil:

 

[LadyArowana]

Sudbury stripper No 410 works beautifully and slices through the Sandtex in no time. Seems to attack the underlying oil-based finishes too, but no quite so effectively. Being significntly more expensive than Klingstrip, I am thinking of using the 410 first (or the 610 which I have still to try) then following up with Klingstrip. 410 smells strongly of Ammonia, which reminds me of matron's room at my prep school.

Anyone had experience of using hot water pressure sprays, whose use is recommended after the stripper? The kit looks expensive to buy or hire.

Have you finished yet? These guys were outside my kitchen window today and whilst I realise they are only washing and then painting over the top they will do 3 X 30 storey towers in a matter of weeks. I'm thinking that one Georgian townhouse wouldn't take long at all .................... you are probably right about it being expensive to buy or hire the kit though. :lol:

 

[Nigel Watts]

Your workmen look very high tech. My parents-in-laws' 18 storey tower block in Bombay is scaffolded entirely in bamboo when works need to be done and I've never seen a workman in a hard hat, boiler suit, or even shoes for that matter.

A Klingstrip poultice square, 10mm thick at one side tapering to about 2mm at the other, left overnight, didnt get very far. Either the Sandtex, or a similar masonry type paint just below it, seems to have stopped penetration to the oild based layers below it.

Looks like it might have to be be a two stage job: one application of 410 or 610 (the latter seems to be very similar to Nitromors) to cut down to the lower oil-based layers, than a Klingstrip poultice to finish, cleaned off with a cold water pressure spray.

 

[Alex]

Nigel I don't envy you at all. We were so 'lucky' with our Sandtex, it had been painted on to a 2 - 3" thick cement render which we just drilled off the rubble stone (taking the dreaded paint with it), without any damage to the actual stone at all. Hope you find a solution soon.

Alex

 

[LadyArowana]

Your workmen look very high tech. My parents-in-laws' 18 storey tower block in Bombay is scaffolded entirely in bamboo when works need to be done and I've never seen a workman in a hard hat, boiler suit, or even shoes for that matter.

Hong Kong used bamboo scaffold, but Singapore doesn't ( not for big buildings, small bits here and there ). 'Elf n safety isn't quite as tight as in the UK, but on big projects all the guys have PPE. Accidents have to be thoroughly investigated and can shut a site for months so there is an incentive to keep people safe, for financial if not moral reasons. I was pleased our guys seemed to be well tethered, friendly too, I was doing the breakfast dishes and we exchanged waves!

 

[Pford75]

I can vouch for the difference between a cold and hot water pressure washer. You get a much, much cleaner finish with the hot and Sandtex comes off much more completely. I bought an old hot water washer on eBay for £250, which sounds a lot.....but it still cheaper than hiring and I can resell back on eBay when finished.

Sincere advice though....do find a way of getting one....it will reduce the time for the job and give a better finish.

 

[Nigel Watts]

Klingstrip poultice about 3mm thick left on for 4 days got through most layers including the masonry paint. Extra thickness made no difference - perhaps it would have if left longer?

Second application now in place in test zone.

 

[Nigel Watts]

Second Klingstrip application got right down to the stucco.

I reckon I have around 230 sq m to strip. If I need a 5mm thick layer that's 76 15ltr tubs = £2,633 plus carriage for the stripper alone.

Cold water washing seems to be quite adequate for this as Klingstrip is water-based, unlike some of the other strippers.

 

[c r]

Klingstrip and one of the 'Peel Away' products are alkaline based strippers that need to be neutralised afterwards with an acid solution.

last year to strip an external cornice i experimented with a poor man's recipie of the above products using water+caustic soda+wallpaper paste (or could use flour!) to thicken the mix. After speading the mix on I then put clingfilm over it and left it overnight. I remember making both a stong and weak mix relating to the amount of caustic soda used per bucket of mix...the results were quite successful particularly on the flatter areas of moulding profile that I was stripping. It was however quite messy as some of the paint layers turned to liquid again. An absorbent material would have been good to lay on instead of/aswell as clingfilm, as comes with the commercial alkaline stripper products.

As you say is quite easy to clean at end with water with these type of stripper, once the paint has been removed. Finally I used a vinegar solution to neutralize the surface after the washing.

I don't mean to suggest it as a perfect way to go- but If most of the areas to be stripped on your house are flat then I would be tempted to have a little experiment with a homemade caustic mix- several bucket loads could be made up for just a few £s.

 

[JoceAndChris]

The above is an ingenious solution, but isn't it dangerous to be playing around with caustic soda?

Nigel, you don't plan to do all this stripping yourself do you? I'm sure the tradesman will get some discount on such vast quantities of the product, and although it will work out fairly pricey, count yourself lucky it isn't cement you're wanting rid of -25k was one of the quotes that came in for mine!

 

[LadyArowana]

isn't it dangerous to be playing around with caustic soda?

Now you have just encouraged all the boys to start with the home made concoctions!